25 Days of Christmas
The 25 Days of Christmas (also currently known as ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, previously known as Fox Family's 25 Days of Christmas and The Family Channel's 25 Days of Christmas) is an annual programming block that has been shown on ABC Family and its predecessors since 1996. As the title implies, it is shown every year from December 1st to December 25th, and features classic holiday programming (such as Rankin/Bass' TV specials), as well as new Christmas-themed television movies, and occasionally new Christmas-themed episodes of the network's original series. Since 2006, the block has also aired general-interest family movies such as the films, , and various films. Starting in 2007, ABC Family extended the "25" days into late November with a Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas block. Original programming Original movies Almost every year since the block started in 1996, at least one new TV film is produced for the channel, with two movies being made every year since 2005. Three films were created for the channel in 2007, due to the popularity generated from the previous year.http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20070424abcfamily04 No new original Christmas movies were made for the block in 2002 or 2014. * - This was released in Canada theatrically, but made its US debut on television. Original specials Acquired programming Current acquired programming The following non-original (meaning that they originally premiered theatrically, direct-to-video, or on another TV network or cable channel) Christmas movies are, as of 2014, presently featured during the 25 Days of Christmas (including the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas). ;Movies *''Arthur Christmas'' *''Disney's A Christmas Carol'' *''A Dennis the Menace Christmas'' *''Elf'' *''Fred Claus'' *''Home Alone'' *''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' *''I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'' *''Jack Frost'' *''Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas'' *''Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas'' *''Miracle on 34th Street'' *''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' *''The Polar Express'' *''Prancer'' *''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' *''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' *''Santa Buddies'' *''The Santa Clause'' *''The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' *''Scrooged'' *''Unaccompanied Minors'' *''Unlikely Angel'' *''A Very Brady Christmas'' ;Specials *''Frosty's Winter Wonderland'' *''Jack Frost'' *''The Little Drummer Boy'' *''Mickey's Christmas Carol'' *''Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey'' *''Prep & Landing'' *''Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice'' *''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' *''Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town'' *''Toy Story That Time Forgot'' *'''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' *''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' Past acquired programming The following non-original specials and movies listed below have aired as part of the 25 Days of Christmas in past years. ;Movies *''An All Dogs Christmas Carol'' *''All I Want for Christmas'' *''Babes in Toyland'' *''Borrowed Hearts'' *''A Carol Christmas'' *''A Chance of Snow'' *''The Christmas Box'' *''The Christmas Path'' *''The Christmas Secret'' *''Christmas Town'' *''The Christmas Wish'' *''A Christmas Without Snow'' *''Deck the Halls'' *''Eloise at Christmastime'' *''Ernest Saves Christmas'' *''The Family Man'' *''A Holiday to Remember'' *''Home Alone 4'' *''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' *''Jingle All the Way'' *''Meet the Santas'' *''A Mom for Christmas'' *''Mr. St. Nick'' *''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' *''The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas'' *''Must Be Santa'' *''Naughty or Nice'' *''The Night They Saved Christmas'' *''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' *''Once Upon a Christmas'' *''One Christmas'' *''The Prince and Me 3: Holiday Honeymoon'' *''Santa and Pete'' *''Santa Claus: The Movie'' *''The Santa Clause 2'' *''Santa, Jr.'' *''Santa Who?'' *''The Search for Santa Paws'' *''Sons of Mistletoe'' *''Stealing Christmas'' *''To Grandmother's House We Go'' *''Twice Upon a Christmas'' ;Specials *''Annabelle's Wish'' *''Cranberry Christmas'' *''The Christmas Orange'' *''The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow'' *''A Flintstone Christmas'' *''A Garfield Christmas Special'' *''Kung Fu Panda Holiday'' *''The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold'' *''The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' *''The Little Drummer Boy, Book II'' *''The Little Rascals Christmas Special'' *''Merry Madagascar'' *''Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special'' *''Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!'' *''Pinocchio's Christmas'' *''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys'' *''State of Grace Christmas Special'' *''White Christmas'' *''Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too'' *''Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus'' Countdown to The 25 Days of Christmas In 2007, due to popular ratings from the previous year, ABC Family launched the first official countdown to the programming block, which began on November 23, the day after Thanksgiving. Although this was the first official early start http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20070424abcfamily04, in recent years, holiday programming has begun during the last week of November, showing mostly older original films, some of which pertained to Christmas and some that did not. The 2008 countdown included the basic cable debuts of Disney's Aladdin, the live-action Garfield movie, and the ABC Family debut of the 's A Carol Christmas. The 2009 event saw the basic cable premieres of , Disney's animated films and Hercules, and the ABC Family original film The Dog Who Saved Christmas. In 2010, the event, which began on November 21, included The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation. Soundtrack In 2009, , the record label owned by the Walt Disney Company (which is ABC Family's parent company), released a compilation album titled Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas. The album featured music from their 2009 special premieres as well as previously released songs that were featured in other programs broadcast on the block, with the inclusion of Jimmy Durante's version of Frosty the Snowman from the 1969 TV special, which itself is aired annually on . Controversy In recent years, many fans of the 25 Days of Christmas programming block have been upset with the inclusion of such movies as the Harry Potter films, various Disney and Pixar films, and other non-holiday films in the lineup. This has sparked many complaints to ABC Family, via email and their page.http://www.facebook.com/25DaysofChristmas References External links *Official web site *Facebook page Category:Programs